


To Soothe The Beast

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Primeval
Genre: Getting Together, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7398454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for lukadreaming who gave the prompt “swimming”. Set during s1.</p><p>Originally posted to Livejournal in 2009.</p>
    </blockquote>





	To Soothe The Beast

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lukadreaming](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lukadreaming).



> Written for lukadreaming who gave the prompt “swimming”. Set during s1.
> 
> Originally posted to Livejournal in 2009.

Stephen groaned as he slowly undressed. He daren’t look into the mirror on the other side of the room to see what damage diving out of the way of a Stegosaurus had done to his body. Instead he kept on slowly peeling rain soaked clothes from his aching body and throwing them down onto the floor, not caring where they landed or that he’d probably never be able to wear them again. Normally he’d never dream of being so untidy, especially not at the Home Office gym, where clearing up after his mess was really one more thing the auxiliary staff didn’t need to deal with.

But today, caring about other people was beyond him.

If they hadn’t come across a poacher and his idiotic ideas to recreate his very own Prehistoric Park, if they hadn’t all risked their lives when the whole situation not surprisingly exploded in all their faces, if they hadn’t cared more about this idiot and his staff instead of their own lives, then Stephen wouldn’t be an aching mess and Connor wouldn’t be in a hospital with a broken leg. Caring about other people was what was getting them all into trouble in the first place.

The fact that he was beginning to sound like Helen wasn’t lost on him. It was just another problem he was planning on ignoring for as long as humanly possible.

“Jesus,” Ryan whistled from the doorway. Stephen flinched. He’d been too caught up in own maudlin thoughts to hear when the other man approached.

“That bad?” Stephen asked. He didn’t turn around, just paused in his undressing a moment before carrying on; he’d never been shy of his body and there didn’t seem much point in pretending otherwise, even now.

“Worse.”

“Any news from the hospital?”

“No,” Ryan sighed. “Just that it was a bad break. Abby said she’d call the minute anything changed.”

Stephen nodded weakly, his back still to Ryan. At least Abby and Connor would look after each other. And maybe Connor would finally take the plunge and tell Abby how he felt. Nothing like facing death every day to realign your priorities.

“I’m going for a swim,” he said after a moment. Though the fact that he was in the pool’s changing rooms should have made that obvious. But he didn’t understand why Ryan was still there, why the man had come to check up on him in the first place. He hadn’t thought their tentative friendship extended that far and so it was with some slight annoyance at not being left alone that he began to think of ways of getting rid of the other man.

“Swimming sounds like a great idea,” Ryan told him. And then to Stephen’s surprise he started to undress.

Stephen opened his mouth to say that he didn’t really want any company right now. But he closed it equally quickly after a quick glance over his shoulder had revealed Ryan’s muscled chest. Having a half-naked Ryan in front of him in reality rather than in his fantasies was more than enough to silence any objections he might have had.

Not that his physical reaction was all that helpful at the moment.

So it was with extremely confused feelings that Stephen quickly headed to the pool, not waiting for Ryan to follow. Not that that was anything new; ever since they’d stumbled across the damn anomalies Stephen hadn’t felt in control of his emotions. Not like he’d used to. Too much he had to say and not enough guts to say them, that was his problem. He knew he needed to take control but he valued the status quo too much to be the one that sent the ripples through every relationship he’d ever had.

The water was just the right temperature and he dived low, skimming the bottom of the pool. Finally he headed for the surface, just in time to watch Ryan’s sleek body enter the water in a perfect dive of his own. Stephen swallowed, hard.

Maybe a few quick lengths would be enough to ease his aches.

Twisting away from looking at Ryan any further, Stephen began to swim with long, gentle strokes, the rhythm of his movement doing more to ease his troubled mind than anything else he could think of.

After about five lengths, just long enough for him to get his thoughts in order and decide that he would need to have a serious talk with Cutter in the morning, Stephen turned, only to find Ryan _right there_ , blocking his path.

“Hi,” Stephen said.

“Hi,” Ryan replied, a wolfish grin plastered on his features.

“Um, everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, um,” Stephen tried to back up but there was nowhere for him to go. “You’re awfully close.”

“No, this is close.” And before Stephen could react, Ryan was kissing him. Hot mouth on him, firm body pressed against him and there was nothing Stephen wanted more in that moment than to keep him there.

So he snaked his arms around Ryan’s shoulders, kicking slowly to keep afloat, but all his focus was on the taste of Ryan and the rightness of having him in his arms. His erection was pressing into Ryan’s thigh and he knew that kissing was nowhere near going to be enough. That this was going to banish all his wretched thoughts much faster than he’d be able to do alone.

“Have you ever had sex in the water?” Ryan panted, breaking their kiss.

“No,” Stephen replied a little shyly, arms still firmly holding on to Ryan's firm shoulders.

“Yeah, well, I have. And it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The movies have got a lot to answer for.” Stephen swallowed his disappointment as Ryan kept talking. “Besides, I have an extraordinarily comfortable bed.” Then he grinned and started pulling Stephen towards the side so they could clamber out together.

Stephen was very glad that Ryan couldn’t see the way his smile faltered as he thought of the long journey back to Ryan’s flat. Or the way it blossomed into a wide grin as Ryan turned back to reassuringly clasp his hand. And he was very glad that he’d chosen today to head to the gym instead of the pub.

Turns out swimming could cure all sorts of aches and pains.  



End file.
